Standing Together With the Lakota Against the “Rainbow’ Gathering in the Black Hills

WE MUST STAND TOGETHER WITH THE TRADITIONAL LAKOTA AGAINST THE “RAINBOW” GATHERING IN THE BLACK HILLS

A MESSAGE TO OUR LAKOTA PEOPLE & OTHER FIRST NATIONS

Floyd Looks for Buffalo Hand has spoken on behalf of the Black Hills Sioux Nation Treaty Council, as their elected leader, that the “Rainbow Family” gathering is not welcome in the Black Hills.

He has called upon the Lakota Strong Heart Warrior Society to enforce this decision and remove those participating in the gathering from Lakota territory. He has asked his nephew and Strong Heart headman, Canupa Gluha Mani to stand with James Swan in moving forward in this call of action, and with the Lakota Nation itself, to enforce international treaty law.

The warriors have been moving around the clock fulfilling the call of duty to serve their nation’s poor and impoverished people within the Great Sioux Nation. Many have tried to undermine this honorable stance as a result of division taking place within the nation – division driven by U.S. policies and personal agendas. Even short-sighted  members of the American Indian Movement have condemned them for making this stand on behalf of the Lakota nation’s poor and innocent grassroots peoples.

The historical use of intoxicants as a weapon to dull our people’s ability to preserve Lakota land and culture is well documented, as is our resistance to the disease of alcohol and drugs in our protests in White Clay, Nebraska.  One of the calls to action in this struggle in the Black Hills is to discipline and sanction the use of all drugs and alcohol within the territorial boundaries of Lakota’s international treaty lands as historically recognized and enforced by Lakota warriors and activists to protect Lakota people.

But the Oglala Sioux Tribe (OST) Council – the corrupt puppet government of the United States – wants to legalize the sale of marijuana and alcohol within the reservation known as Pine Ridge, allowing a massive underground drug and bootlegging trade to operate in the open.  Members from the OST council have met with marijuana growers, and individuals colluding with the U.S. Government, that are doubling or posing as Rainbow Family.

The reasons for this meeting seem clear: to help further one another’s agenda.  The growers can use the “legitimacy” of the tribal government’s word to justify their dishonorable presence in the Black Hills and make a profit from current and future pot sales.  They have launched their own dis-information campaign to draw more people to the Black Hills and are even using Lakota youth to serve as “Rainbow ambassadors” to bring in more Lakota from the reservations.

The OST stands to profit by endorsing the Rainbow gathering. They earn support for legalization efforts, and make future business contacts for the web of drug gangs that use the OST for protection and funding. This so-called “government” is once again putting the desires and profits of individuals over the well-being of a nation.

The U.S. Government benefits by creating chaos and division within the Lakota nation and openly supporting OST’s dismissal of traditional Lakota people and their free and independent status. This erodes critical efforts at tribal sovereignty, preservation of language and culture, and reduces efforts at protecting innocent people from the damaging effects of corporate resource extraction and pipeline projects.

We also know of at least two other tribal members who are not a part of the tribal government who have been spreading lies about the motives of Strong Heart and aligning themselves against the wishes of the Black Hills Sioux Nation Treaty Council. They have brazenly spread the message it is alright to gather in the Black Hills without following traditional protocol. These persons should be held accountable for the act of bringing destruction on their own tribal members, including their own youth, in the quest for personal recognition or gain.

We are asking for the public to call Floyd Looks for Buffalo Hand at 605-867-5762 and give him support and encouragement in sanctioning the following individuals who have sold out their people. These people are encouraging division and the disrespect of traditional protocols that protect a nation. Their unwise and unhealthy actions cannot continue to go on without comment. These individuals are:

John Yellow Bird Steele
Alex White Plume
Regina Brave
Leonard Little Finger
Russell Eagle Bear
Dennis Tacos Yellow Thunder
Michael Catches the Enemy
Garvard Good Plume
Leo Cordier
Storm Harris
Jess Rowland
James Hawk
Harold One Feather

We also call upon the Treaty Councils of the Great Sioux Nation, and other Indigenous nations, to stand with the Black Hills Sioux Nation Treaty Council in sanctioning these individuals above who have acted in detriment to the well-being of the Lakota Nation.   Contact Floyd Looks for Buffalo Hand at 605-867-5762 with your support.

Sadly, the Great Sioux Nation has already allowed one eastern sister band to legalize marijuana in detriment to it’s own people. This legislation only adds to the devastating drug addiction epidemic that is present in these regions and is killing our people. How can we preserve our beautiful Lakota culture if we are despondent, dull, and distanced from ourselves through drugs and alcohol?

A MESSAGE TO AMERICAN PEOPLE

For those who consider themselves as American People, we ask you to consider these words and forward this message to your family, friends, and organizations:

As Americans, when will we stand together to stop the uncaring attitudes and behaviors that forces this country’s own indigenous people to kill each other?  When is enough, enough?  When do we accept the shame for killing off our last indigenous peoples that have done no wrong to our grandfathers and grandmothers, or our children?  If we are honest, we as Americans are to blame regardless of what side of the fence we stand on. Regardless of our political affiliation, we urge other Americans to take a stand and fight the real fight to save the indigenous peoples and their homeland. If we are really true patriotic Americans then lets act like real Americans and stop all of this racial bigotry that we impose upon the last real remaining freedom fighters that have done no wrong to us.

Remember, the violation of traditional Lakota cultural protocols is what escalated into the illegal entry into the Black Hills of this gathering – what can be seen as delinquent youth and arrogant individuals taking the lead of false Rainbow leaders. This has turned into something quite different than a gathering about “love” and “peace” with long-time Rainbow founders and participants openly denouncing what is happening in the Black Hills.  The disrespectful and manipulative actions of a few rainbow Americans, coupled with the promise of profits from pot sales, are causing trauma and turmoil to Native nations who have done nothing to us, and simply wish to be left alone. As  tax-paying Americans we have a responsibility because we helped create this problem. The only ones we see staying true to their belief so far, are the real warriors that are fighting the real fight against their own destruction.  We must support them.

How can we help? One thing that can be done is to call Floyd Looks for Buffalo Hand at 605-867-5762 and ask him to sanction the people listed in this letter for selling out their own people. The people on the OST tribal council have sold out their people by ignoring the Lakota nation’s free and independent status and seemingly accepted bribes from pot growers with a personal agenda.

Other individuals that have sided with the fake “rainbow” gathering in the Black Hills are doing their own part to undermine the Lakota nation’s free and independent status whether it be willingly, or not.  They must also be held accountable.

Let’s call our Senators and Representatives and tell them we support the Lakota asserting their sovereign rights in the Black Hills to protect their people.  We stand with them.

• Senator John Thune phone in Rapid City is  (605) 348-7551. His toll-free number is (866) 850-3855
• Senator MIke Rounds phone in Rapid City is (605) 343-5035. His toll-free number is (844) 875-5268
• Representative Kristi Noem in Rapid City is (605) 791-4673. Her toll-free number is (855) 225-2801

If we stand together, we can stop this fake “rainbow” gathering and support the traditional Lakota people.  It’s the right thing to do.

Lakota Situation Summary for the Rainbow Family

THE LAKOTA PEOPLE AND THE BLACK HILLS:  A SITUATION SUMMARY FOR THE RAINBOW FAMILY

This educational document was requested by members of the Rainbow Family to share among those who are not understanding of the situation in the Black Hills and with the Lakota Oyate.

THE LAKOTA HAVE JURISDICTION

The matriarchal Tetuwan Lakota Oyate have never relinquished nation status. The assertion of sovereign Lakota political, economic, and cultural identity within our territory has been continually maintained through our matriarchal system and other customary political and cultural institutions like treaty and judicial councils, elder societies, and warrior societies. This is the real Lakota.

The Lakota People have the right to assert independent status and sovereign jurisdiction over our territory under International Law such as the 1961 and 1969 Vienna Convention on Treaties, 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights, 2007 Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, and in U.S. law under Article VI of the United States Constitution.

If the Rainbow Family does not honor Lakota sovereignty then they are endorsing U.S. colonization of Lakota territory and genocide of our people.

THE BLACK HILLS IS LAKOTA TERRITORY

Despite the intentional killing of free Lakota people, the forced movement of our people onto agency lands (reservations), and, a sell-or-starve policy by the United States Government, the sacred Black Hills has never been ceded by the Lakota People. In 1980, the U.S. Supreme Court recognized the Black Hills had been illegally stolen from the Lakota. The Black Hills is not U.S. National Forest, park land, public land, or America. The Black Hills is Lakota territory!

The Rainbow Family has no special right, entitlement, or privilege to gather in the Black Hills.

THE OGLALA SIOUX TRIBE IS A U.S. PUPPET GOVERNMENT

The Oglala Sioux Tribal (OST) Government system was created by the 1934 Indian Reorganization Act (IRA) and was illegally forced upon our people by the Bureau of Indian Affairs. The Oglala Sioux Tribe is controlled by non-traditional mixed-blood indians and is culturally incompatable with traditional matriarchal, family-based Lakota culture.

The OST is ruled through corruption, embezzlement, fraud, and nepotism. Beginning in the early 1970s, the OST has been used to attack and eliminate full-blood, traditional, and grassroots Lakota people. This corruption and violence precipitated the 1973 Wounded Knee Takeover and continues today.

Rainbow Family collaboration with the Oglala Sioux Tribe is the same as working with the U.S. Government to destory authentic Lakota sovereignty and culture.

THE DRUG TRADE IS DESTROYING OUR WAY OF LIFE

The genocidal conditions of life created by the U.S. Government and the OST have created an epidemic of drugs and alcohol use among our people. The situation is so critical that elders must often chain their refrigerators shut so that their food will not be stolen and exchanged for drugs or alcohol. Hopelessness fuels a teen suicide rate over 150% times the U.S. average.

Drug and alcohol gang members openly work within OST to embezzle money from U.S. contracts that are desperately needed for the poor Lakota people to fund housing, food, and medical care. This money funds their drug trade and is used to bribe tribal council members, BIA officials, and law enforcement into protecting this corrupt system.

When Lakota people courageously speak out against this corrupt system, they face retaliation and are blacklisted from OST government services necessary for life including housing, healthy food, winter propane, and funds for critical medical proceedures like dialysis. Elders in their 70s, 80s, and 90s are threatened with assault, false imprisonment, and even murder. They face constant mental anguish for seeking a better life for their Lakota people.

Inside sources tell us the decision to hold a gathering in the Black Hills is being fueled by financial motives of at least one large pot grower in the Rainbow Family. This is a direct assault on Lakota people.

A NATION SPEAKS FOR THE INDIVIDUAL

Unscrupulous or ignorant people among the Rainbow Family may find a group or individual that will say or do what they like. These individuals may offer ceremony, claim to share Indigenous ‘wisdom’, or give permission for activities and ceremonies when they do not have the Lakota people’s authority to do so. This often results in cultural confusion, cultural appropriation and theft, and real Lakota issues and voices being silenced. Only listening to the voices you want to hear dishonors Lakota cultural protocols, creates division, and hurts Lakota people further.  The Lakota have a saying, “An individual does not speak for a nation – the nation speaks for the individual.”

Elders and leaders from traditional Lakota governing societies have clearly told the Rainbow Family they are not welcome in the Black Hills. We urge  the  Rainbow Family to leave the Black Hills now and denounce those that stay!  Stand in solidarity with the traditional Lakota people!

No Means No

We are hearing on the ground the Rainbow Family is finally realizing they have screwed up.  But in classic white supremacist fashion, they continue to try and set the terms for their continued occupation of Lakota Territory.  They want to stay and make ammends “on the land”.

That’s not how it works. The Rainbow Family has been given an order to leave the Black Hills. They are in open violation of Lakota Order, currently trespassing on Lakota land,  guilty of verbally abusing Lakota elders and representatives, and then lying about it to other Rainbows who are not on the land.  This must stop.

RAINBOW FAMILY OUT NOW!

ACTION ALERT: Stand With Traditional Lakota People Under Attack in the Black Hills

Lakota Cante Tenza Okolakiciye – Strong Heart Warrior Society
cantetenza.wordpress.com

June 18, 2015

STRONG HEART ACTION ALERT!
TRADITIONAL LAKOTA PEOPLE & SOVEREIGNTY UNDER ATTACK
For Immediate Release and Action!  Share Widely!

The Lakota Nation has never relinquished nation status and the sacred Black Hills is unceded Lakota territory. While many of the Rainbow Family have realized it is inappropriate to hold a  Rainbow Gathering in the Black HIlls,  a smaller Rainbow group is allowing themselves to be used by the United States Government and the illegal Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) Oglala Sioux Tribe Government (OST) who are very intentionally attacking Lakota sovereign jurisdiction and traditional Lakota people. They want Lakota warriors and the Rainbow Family to fight so they can arrest Lakota activists and interfere with efforts to assert sovereignty.  This is nothing more than continued warfare waged against traditional and grassroots Lakota people and Indigenous rights.

The Lakota people have a natural right, under International Law, to exercise sovereign jurisdiction, customary law, and our traditional political, economic, and social institutions free from interference. This includes the rights to control our territory and exercise our traditional governmental institutions such as treaty councils, judicial councils, and warrior societies.

1. We call upon all those who are friends of the traditional and grassroots Lakota people to hold accountable the United States Government through its National Forest Service and National Park Service. Demand they end their unlawful protection of those Rainbow Family and campers who are violating orders of the traditional Lakota people.  Contact:

• U.S. Forest Service Black Hills director Craig Bobzien phone   (605) 673-9200,  fax: (605) 673-9350, email to cbobzien@fs.fed.us
• U.S. Forest Service Washington DC Chief Tom Tidwell phone (202) 205-8439 and email to ttidwell@fs.fed.us  Copy Tina Baily at tcbailey@fs.fed.us
• U.S. Park Service Mount Rushmore Superintendent Cheryl Schreier at (605)-574-3131 and Cheryl_Schreier@nps.gov     

Tell them they are bound by U.S. and International Law to uphold the lawful orders of the Black Hills Sioux Treaty Council, Tetuwan Judicial Council, and Independent Lakota Nation of the traditional and grassroots Lakota Oyate.

2.     Contact the South Dakota Congressional representatives.

• Senator John Thune (605) 348-7551 and toll-free (866) 850-3855
• Senator MIke Rounds  (605) 343-5035 and toll-free (844) 875-5268
• Representative Kristi Noem (605) 791-4673 and toll-free (855) 225-2801

Tell them they legally obligated to respect the traditional government and sovereign jurisdiction of the Lakota people. Ask them to put pressure on the U.S. Forest Service and U.S. Park Service to stop going against traditional Lakota orders. (They are all in Pine Ridge on Thursday June 18).

3.  Contact President John Steele of the BIA Oglala Sioux Tribe  and Vice President Tom Poor Bear.

• OST Tribal President John Steele 605-867-4021; email to johns@oglala.org
• OST Vice-President Tom Poor Bear  605-867-4009; email: tompb@oglala.org

Tell them to stop being agents with the U.S. Government and  listen to the traditional elders and people who wishes are not being respected.  Ask him to withdraw OST invitation from the Rainbow Family as elders and warriors in the Black Hills Treaty Council, Tetuwan Judicial Council, and Strong Heart Warrior Society have demanded.

4.  The Rainbow family must not allow themselves to be used as agents of the United States Government and the genocidal BIA Tribal Government System.  Stand with people like Daniel Suelo and members of the Rainbow Family in boycotting a gathering in South Dakota and withdrawing people who are already there.

Lakota Cante Tenza Okolakiciye – Strong Heart Warrior Society
Independent Lakota Nation
P.O. Box 512 Hill City, SD 57745
Canupa Gluha Mani 605-517-1547
cantetenza13@gmail.com

Lakota Issue Notice of Complaint to Rainbow Family; Deny Black Hills Entry

Hill City – The Lakota Tetuwan Judiciary Council and the Cante Tenza Strong Heart Warrior Society of the Independent Lakota Nation have issued a Notice of Complaint to the Rainbow Family and the Rainbow Gathering denying them entry into the Sacred Black Hills.

Using Article I of the 1868 Treaty of Ft. Laramie known as the “Bad Man Clause”, Lakota warriors will exercise sovereign jurisdiction over their traditional territory to remove any encampments and hold the Rainbow Family in custody until they can be handed over to United States officials for treatment.   Monetary damages will be sought.

The Cante Tenza Strong Heart Warriors and the Tetuwan Judicial Council are also pointing a finger at the Bureau of Indian Affairs Oglala Sioux Tribe Government who once again illegally refused to consult traditional elders before entering into negotiations with the Rainbow Family group.

This action highlights the complete breakdown of government with Pine Ridge Reservation resulting in one government for those connected to the BIA system, and additional poverty, violence, and lack of representation to traditional and grassroots Lakota people.

The United States Forest Service and the Department of Justice are also being scrutinized for their failure to recognize and protect sovereign Lakota lands in the Black Hills- especially during ceremony time when so many Lakota are traveling and participating in Sundance and other ceremonies necessary for Lakota health and survival.  A gathering of the Rainbow Family may have over 20,000 people and is known for the rampant nudity and drug use that accompany such gatherings. This would disrupt and dissuade Lakota ceremonial practices in the Black Hills.

 

 

Action Alert: Rainbow Tribe NOT WELCOME in Black Hills

Traditional Lakota Elders & Warriors: Rainbow Gathering NOT WELCOME in the Sacred Black Hills

Cante Tenza Okolakiciye, the traditional Strong Heart Warrior Society of the free and Independent Lakota Nation has heard from the traditional and grassroots elders on Pine Ridge and the message is clear: the Rainbow Gathering is NOT WELCOME in the Sacred Black Hills and this gathering is incompatible with the deep political, cultural, and spiritual significance of this area to our people.

Those standing in solidarity with Cante Tenza and the traditional Lakota People are urged to call and email the U.S. Forest Service Black Hills Supervisor Craig Bobzien, as well as US Forest Chief Tidwell in Washington DC. , Demand they uphold the sovereign rights of the Lakota People and stand with us to keep the Rainbow Gathering out of the Black Hills.

U.S. Forest Service Black Hills director Craig Bobzien phone   (605) 673-9200,  fax: (605) 673-9350, email to cbobzien@fs.fed.us

U.S. Forest Service Washington DC Chief Tom Tidwell phone (202) 205-8439 and email to ttidwell@fs.fed.us  Copy Tina Baily at tcbailey@fs.fed.us

Also, contact any Rainbow Family you know and share this message.

 The Rainbow Family has said they have met with “Lakota leaders” but these people are not the traditional, grassroots people and do not speak for these grassroots elders on Pine Ridge. They have not been asked or consulted.

The Black Hills are LAKOTA LANDS never ceeded to the US Government or anyone else and actively in contention. The Rainbow Family’s assertion of the “right” to go wherever they want on Lakota lands is the same colonizing attitude since 1492 dressed up in hippie “onenes”.  Not recognizing the Lakota right to refuse occupation of our lands is racist and colonialist.

The Lakota have experienced previous Rainbow type gatherings and do not want another in the Black Hills. This is Sundance and ceremony time in the Black HIlls and all across Lakota territory.  Incursions like this that are culturally hurtful and harmful are not suitable or sustainable for the preservation of Lakota language and culture which are invigorated and sustained by prayer and ceremony during this time.

Also, large gatherings of culturally offensive people may dissuade traditional elders and our people from visiting the Black Hills  -itself an act of cultural loss and genocide. Predatory people and drug dealers who accompany these gatherings may also be present which are a threat to Lakota women and children.

Cante Tenza has been asked to communicate this message:

• The Black Hills is the most sacred place to the Lakota People and contains sites of cultural importance to many other Indigenous Nations. The Black Hills is an inappropriate place for a Rainbow Gathering.

• Traditional and grassroots elders have expressed their deep concern to Cante Tenza about the Rainbow gathering. Noting the historic exploitation of the sacred Black Hills by non-Lakota settlers as well as nudity and drug use common to Rainbow participants, this gathering is incompatible with the deep spiritual significance of the area to the Lakota and other Indigenous peoples.
  

• The Rainbow Family and its associated participants are well known for the cultural theft of Indigenous ceremonies and cultural practices that are deeply rooted in racism and white privilege. The Black Hills is already a place where Lakota have been prevented from practicing our sacred way of life by the State and white settlers. The use of the Black Hills by those “playing indian” and misusing Indigenous cultural practices is both hurtful and harmful to real Lakota people.

• The announcement of the Rainbow Gathering coming to the Black Hills has already caused concern and anxiety to traditional Lakota elders and people who already struggle with difficult conditions of life. The Rainbow Family has already disrespected the Lakota People and this must stop now.

• The Rainbow Gathering will be perpetuating racism and cultural genocide on the Lakota people by ignoring the wishes of the traditional elders, warriors, and oyate. We condemn the Rainbow Gathering plans to congregate in the Black Hills and demand an immediate cessation to this organizing effort.

The message is clear: No RAINBOW GATHERING ON LAKOTA LANDS!

April 9 & 10 – Unsettling Boston!

UNSETTLE BOSTON!
Conquest of Independence & Decolonization Skill-ShareThe Tetuwan Lakota Strong Heart Warrior  Society invites you to join us for two  FREE evenings of music, discussion, and resistance.

Thursday April 9, 6:30pm – 9:30pm
Encuentro 5
9A Hamilton Place in downtown Boston
near Park St. T-Stop & Suffolk Law School

Friday April 10, 8:00pm – 10:00pm
Old Oak Dojo
14 Chestnut Place in Jamaica Plain, MA
Stonybrook T-Station on the Orange Line
Seating is limited to 20 chairs and 20 on the floor. We recommend you arriving early to find a spot. The dojo is wheelchair accessible. Please do not park in the driveway.Both events are FREE!  Donations welcome.
For questions, email cantetenza13@gmail.com or call 617-230-3860

March 15 – Portland, ME

March 15, 2015 in Portland, ME

March 4 -Plainfield, VT

from the Strong Heart Event March 4, 2015 in Plainfield, VT

March 1 – Brattleboro VT

March 1, 2015 event in Brattleboro, VT

Canupa Gluha Mani holds the United Nations flag given to Cante Tenza by UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights in recognition of their work for the sovereign Lakota people.